AFRICA: Mounting unease about Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s well-being spilled over into street protests, despite government insistence on Buhari’s good health.

AMERICAS: Brazil’s top prosecutor asked the Supreme Court for permission to investigate attempts to obstruct the nation’s largest corruption probe.

ASIA: The Philippines expects China to try to build on a reef off the Philippines’ coast, a move Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said would be “unacceptable” in the flashpoint waterway.

EUROPE: Two Moroccan men accused of indoctrination in Islamist extremism and recruiting others have been detained in Barcelona, Spain.

MIDDLE EAST: A Palestinian Cabinet minister called on the international community to punish Israel for a new law that retroactively legalizes thousands of West Bank settlement homes built unlawfully on private Palestinian land.

TECHNOLOGY: The US House of Representatives voted to require law enforcement to obtain a search warrant before seeking old emails from technology companies.

TOP STORY

Syria: Amnesty International report alleges mass hangings.

In a new report by Amnesty International, from 2011 to 2015, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government secretly executed between 5,000 and 13,000 people in Saydnaya prison as part of its campaign to eliminate opposition to his rule.

The report is based on results of a year-long investigation, including interviews with 84 witnesses including security guards, detainees, judges, and lawyers.

These witnesses have described executions and the conditions in the prison before DEC15 but they could be continuing.

Other rights groups have found evidence of widespread torture leading to death in Syrian detention facilities.

Nigeria: Mounting unease about President Muhammadu Buhari’s well-being spilled over into street protests, despite government insistence on Buhari’s good health. (Reuters)

Nigeria: Nigerian troops saved the life of a young woman strapped with explosives and killed another as the two were apparently planning to attack the city of Maiduguri. (AP)

Uganda: Tribal leader Charles Wesley Mumbere, accused of leading a secessionist movement in the country’s western region, was released on bail. (Reuters)

AMERICAS

Brazil: The country’s top prosecutor asked the Supreme Court for permission to investigate attempts to obstruct the nation’s largest corruption probe. (Reuters)

Mexico: Mexican authorities are investigating several bags of human remains discovered in the eastern state of Veracruz. (AP)

Peru: Prosecutors opened an investigation into suspicions former President Alejandro Toledo took bribes from Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht. (AP)

ASIA

Region: The Philippines expects China to try to build on a reef off the Philippines’ coast, a move Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said would be “unacceptable” in the flashpoint waterway. (AFP)

Region: Pakistan extended the deadline for its 1.5M Afghan refugees, saying they can remain through the end of this year. (AP)

Afghanistan: District governor Abdul Khaliq Noorzai was killed in a bomb attack in the western province of Farah, the latest in a string of targeted killings. (Xinhua)

Myanmar: A state commission rejected accusations the military has killed, tortured, and raped Rohingya Muslims, saying it was focused on the “truth” and not pleasing the UN. (AFP)

Thailand: The first royal defamation case under the country’s new monarch was slammed by the UN, who said public figures should not be above scrutiny or criticism. (AFP)

EUROPE

Region: Austria wants to step up efforts with countries along the Balkan migrant route to plug gaps in border protection. (AP)

France: Former president Nicolas Sarkozy is to face trial over the allegedly fraudulent financing of his doomed 2012 bid for re-election. (AFP)

Spain: Two Moroccan men accused of indoctrination in Islamist extremism and recruiting others have been detained in Barcelona. (AP)

Turkey: Journalists and executives from the Cumhuriyet newspaper are set to spend their 100th night in jail, as part of a crackdown in the country. (DPA)

MIDDLE EAST

Region: A Palestinian Cabinet minister called on the international community to punish Israel for a new law that retroactively legalizes thousands of West Bank settlement homes built unlawfully on private Palestinian land. (AP)

Iran: President Hassan Rouhani said that, unlike what President Trump says, the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers was a win-win accord. (Reuters)

Saudi Arabia: Saudi police foiled an attempt by a suspected extremist to burn himself in front of the Kaaba in the grand mosque of Mecca, the most valued site among Muslims. (Xinhua)

Syria: At least 15 people died in airstrikes on the rebel-held city of Idlib, in some of the heaviest raids in months. (Reuters)

Syria: President Bashar Assad said “defending” his country was more important than any international tribunal that may be brought against his government later. (AFP)

TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS

Technology: The US House of Representatives voted to require law enforcement to obtain a search warrant before seeking old emails from technology companies. (Reuters)